Page 103 of Mountain Void

Théo grinned, as if this was almost as great as the helicopter ride.

Charlie looked up to find Tristan watching her carefully. “Go with him. I promise I’ll come find you if there’s any news.”

Her throat tightened.

“Thank you.”

She followed the doctor and Théo upstairs, into a smaller examination room.

A nurse clipped a monitor onto Théo’s finger to check his oxygen saturation, while another took his temperature and blood pressure.

Charlie held herself still by the door, trying not to hover.

Eventually, the doctor came back and listened to his lungs.

“His lungs sound clear for now. Oxygen levels are great. We’ll keep him for observation a little while longer, but I’m happy with how he’s doing.”

Relief hit her, then. Théo was going to be okay.

Suddenly, the boy looked up. His legs dangled off the side of the examination table, sneakers swaying from side to side.

“Is Lorenz going to be okay?”

Her eyes burned. She turned her face, wiping the tears from her cheeks. She’d been trying to focus on Théo, but his question brought all her fears to the surface. Lorenz was somewhere in this hospital. Hurt.

“I hope so,” she said honestly.

The door opened, saving her from having to say anything else.

“Théo!” Madame Pelletier rushed into the room.

Charlie looked at the boy, waiting to see if there was any indecision on his face—anything that should give her cause for concern. But the boy’s expression was pure happiness as he launched off the examination table and into his mother’s arms.

“Théo,” the woman said again, squeezing the boy tightly against her chest. “Oh, mon Dieu,” she sobbed. “Mon bébé.”

Théo buried his face against his mother’s body and began crying, too, all the tears he’d held back pouring out now.

Charlie and the doctor both inched towards the door instinctively.

But the woman looked up and caught her gaze.

“Merci, Mademoiselle Brooks. Merci,” she sobbed.

“Of course,” Charlie said. “You don’t … you don’t need to thank me.”

The woman closed her eyes briefly. “I do. You … you’ve been a friend this whole time. And tonight … how can I ever thank you for bringing him back to me?”

“No need,” Charlie said, her throat tight. “I … I will be outside if you need anything.”

Tristan was waiting for her in the corridor outside with a paper coffee cup in his hand.

He held it out toward her without a word.

Exhaustion hit her as she looked at it.

When was the last time she’d had anything to eat or drink?

“No news yet,” he said gently, preempting her question. “Go on, take a sip. Then I’ll take you downstairs so you can be the first to hear as soon as Val comes out.”